This invention relates to aerobic exercise floor systems having the type of resiliency satisfying participants, to pads suitable for creating such floor systems, and to spring clips for holding the wear layer in place and in allowing the wear layer to flex.
A major concern of aerobic professionals is the disproportionate number of instructors and participants who become injured during aerobic exercies. Shin splints, tendonitis, stressed and sore joints, muscle trauma and ankle roll over are examples of the type of injuries which occur. Ultimately it is the floor that must accept responsibility for reducing shock, promoting comfort and protecting against these injuries.
Various flooring systems have been developed to provide a cushioning effect. U.S. Pat. No. 3,684,630 discloses a steel floor having grooves cut into the steel over a foam underlayer. A wear layer is placed over the steel. "The deeper the wear layer is depressed the greater is the tendency to rupture the wear layer and to crush the underlying material", according to the patent describing the mechanics of a wear material with limited load distributing factors. For an exercise floor, the continuous flexing of the steel where the grooves have been cut could cause flex cracking of the joints. U.S. Pat. No. 3,388,516 discloses the use of corrugated steel as a cushioning material as an improvement over concrete. U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,293 discloses bonded floor tile over a network of filaments containg spheroidal cells of gas as an improvement over bonding the floor tile directly to the sub floor. The tile are locked together by tongue and groove on all four sides, or by adhesive. U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,688 discloses an artificial ice skating ring floor on a layer of cushion material. The floor plates are held together by U shaped insertion members.